


a white winter jacket

by Moomybeam



Series: Not Going Anywhere [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), Detroit: Evolution
Genre: Fluff, Gavin's past and how to survive it, M/M, Nines' white jacket, Octopunk Media, Post-Octopunk Media's Detroit: Evolution Fan Film, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, maybe it's a metaphor, take it from someone who has issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:41:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24129088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moomybeam/pseuds/Moomybeam
Summary: “Eine weiße Weste haben” - german phrase. lit.: to wear a white jacket, fig.: to be free of blame or guilt- Gavin and his problems with the color white.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Series: Not Going Anywhere [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1742281
Comments: 27
Kudos: 126





	a white winter jacket

**Author's Note:**

> mAyBe It’S a MeTaPhOr

Gavin wasn’t in bed when Nines opened his eyes, which, in itself, was reason enough for concern. Even though neither of them had said a word about it, in some form of unspoken agreement to spare each other the embarrassment of possessing human emotions, recently they had been spending more nights together than apart, and 99.8% of the time, Gavin was the one to sleep in to let himself be awoken by Nines’ gentle fluttering about.

Nines rolled over and assessed the rumpled blankets to his side. Clearly slept in and still slightly warm. Less reason to worry, then. Reason for discontentment, maybe. 

He really liked morning cuddles - witnessing Gavin’s face go from the serene blank slate of sleep to that familiar blushing disgruntled mess when he noticed he was being watched, being allowed one or two kisses depending on the day, ruffling those unruly curls and exchanging the first few words of banter… Gavin’s presence beside him was the sole reason he willingly sacrificed highly valuable time going into technically unnecessary stasis. 

Suffice to say, Nines wasn’t pleased to have his morning ritual interrupted.

“...Gavin?”

A vaguely affirmative noise echoed from the living room. With a very human sigh, Nines swung his legs out of bed and curled his toes into the sufficiently fluffy rug he had bought on a whim a few weeks ago. Gavin had been pleased to receive the gift, even though he hadn’t exactly voiced the feeling. That was alright, though. Nines had already accepted that he would be spending quite a portion of his life providing his partner with comforts he didn’t allow himself to have and he didn’t need gratitude to proceed with his mission. 

In fact, he mused while straightening out the bedsheets and brushing away stray cathair, Gavin’s complaining would probably only serve to motivate him further.

He made a note to look into more comfortable pillows while he walked into the livingroom to investigate his partner’s whereabouts - and stopped short.

Gavin was standing with his back to him at the window, looking out on the city, a cup of still steaming coffee in his hand, wearing nothing but his usual boxers and an old shirt that hung loosely from his collarbones. His hair was getting long, an appointment at his hairdresser already in their shared calendar, and the curls were subtly threatening to take up their new career as a bird’s nest.

He looked so utterly charming, Nines was overcome with the irrational urge to close the blinds and hide him from the rest of the world. But just as the thought formed, the subject of his musings turned his head and caught his gaze with a sharp grin.

“Morning, tincan. Sleep well?” the sleep-ridden rumble of Gavin’s voice made something within Nines want to purr.

Instead, he made a show of rolling his eyes. “You know going into stasis isn’t affected by outside parameters like sleep is.”

“Yeah yeah, I get it, you’re incredible.” he took a sip of his coffee. Nines tilted his head.

“Did _you_ sleep well? You weren’t there when I-”

“What, did you miss me?”

Nines raised an eyebrow. “Yes. Obviously.”

Gavin turned back to the window, most probably to hide the blush that was rising on his cheeks. “I was kinda surprised I didn’t wake you, to be honest. It’s not like I was trying to be quiet.”

“Dick.”

“Asshat.”

They grinned to themselves for a quiet moment until Nines stepped closer to wrap his arms around his partner’s form, tucking his chin over his shoulder. Glancing out the window, he noted that it was snowing, the little perfect crystals of snowflakes reflecting in the hazel depths of Gavin’s eyes.

“Why are you watching the snow instead of sleeping?” Something about the very concept of that idea unsettled Nines for some reason just out of his reach.

“Felt like it.” was Gavin’s decidedly nonchalant response. But something was up, Nines could tell. He searched his databases and suddenly it hit him like a freight train.

_Bleeding in the fucking snow… and no one cares._

Gavin hated the snow.

“You… felt like it.”

“Got a problem with that?”

Nines tightened his hold. “Nono, not at all. Except -” he pressed a little kiss to Gavin’s neck “- I didn’t get to wake up with you.”

Gavin blushed. “You’re so fucking weird.”

“Am I? Or are you simply as emotionally mature as a twelve-year-old?”

“Rude.”

“You love it.”

Gavin took another sip of his coffee and there was a brief moment of comfortable silence where the both of them pretended to watch the snow fall.

Until Gavin glanced at the clock and paled.

“Mother _fuck_ , we’re late!”  
Nines smirked. “I was wondering when you’d notice.”

* * *

  
  


“God it’s so fucking cold! I’m gonna freeze my ass off!”

Gavin was rubbing his own arms in a futile attempt to acquire some warmth but a quick scan showed his temperature-level remained far below optimal.

Besides, he was in a bad mood. His usual coffee at the precinct had been ruined by Fowler shouting at them both for their tardiness - Officer Chen and Detective Miller giggling in the back like preschoolers -, there had been no real cases to work on, and he had been bored out of his mind with endless paperwork that had kept them until the sun set, bathing Detroit in the uninviting cold of a winter evening. A less than ideal day, to say the least, yet charming in its mundane simplicity.

And it was still snowing.

In one smooth motion, Nines removed his [white winter jacket](https://www.luulla.com/product/298085/large-size-fur-coats-white-parka-jacket-with-faux-fur-lining-for-women-off-white-winter-jacket-for-women) and presented it to a wide-eyed Gavin. This particular jacket was pleasingly soft on the inside and wearing it felt, according to the reviews he’d consulted before confirming the purchase, like being hugged by a cloud. 

He could neither confirm nor deny this observation.

Met with silence from his partner, Nines folded the jacket into a neat little package and pushed it against Gavin’s chest. 

The unnecessary force of the push seemed to startle him into action, and for a moment or two, he seemed to genuinely consider whacking the jacket over Nines’ head. Apparently, though, he arrived at the astute conclusion that this would only result in an embarrassing display of the superiority of android strength, and begrudgingly slid his freezing arms into the fuzzy sleeves. Unsurprisingly, Nines’ jacket was too big on him - the hood, lined with synthetic fur, could have swallowed his entire head, and the sleeves hung way past his hands.

He looked … adorable. His face screamed murder.

“Don’t let anyone see me like this, or I’ll -”  
“You’ll do what? I assure you, you look perfectly fine. And besides, the garment’s main function is to preserve heat for your comfort, fashion should merely be an afterthought in this case.”

“‘Oh sure, totally, you’re not enjoying how stupid I look at all, you’re just _so_ concerned with my _comfort_.”

“I never said that - I am merely interested in the wellbeing of your ass.”

“Oh for fuck-”

A snowball entered Nines’ field of vision and he was surprised to find that it was too late to duck when his subroutines alerted him of the fact.

Gavin looked surprised, like he hadn’t expected the missile to make it anywhere near Nines. Not too surprised, though, to pick up another wad of snow and shape it into a sloppy spheric shape. 

By that time, Nines had already launched three snowballs of his own.

Within minutes, they were both entirely soaked, snow seeping through even the high-quality material of Nines’ jacket, and when Nines inevitably won, tackling Gavin to the ground in a messy, giggling heap at the outskirts of some park, neither of them felt the need to get up. Gavin because he wanted to pretend he wasn’t out of breath and Nines because he enjoyed watching Gavin pretend. 

He looked beautiful lying in the snow and Nines cared about him so much. 

“You look good.”

Gavin rolled his eyes. “I look ridiculous.”

“No, I - well, yes, I suppose, but I meant…” he turned his eyes upwards to the cloudy grey of the sky. “... happy. You look happy.”

Silence settled between them for a moment, and suddenly Nines felt Gavin’s cold fingers curl around his - as usual, the synthetic skin automatically receded and gave way to unyielding white. Nines repressed an urge to stare as Gavin lifted their hands to his mouth and pressed a kiss to his knuckles.

“Maybe I am.” he muttered quietly, as if the concept itself was unfamiliar to him. Nines smiled at their intertwined hands on Gavin’s chest.

“You’ve come a long way since we met, Gavin.”

He grimaced, not looking at Nines. “Ugh, shut it. … If I have, so have you. Finally removed that stick from your ass.”

Nines rolled his eyes. 

“Are you kidding me, don’t tell me you don’t see it. You slept in today! That’s not like the RK900 I met at all.”

He was right. It… wasn’t. Nines blinked. His interface showed no errors, but…  
“You look like that’s a bad thing.”

“I’m not sure, I-” Nines inclined his head, sifting through his memories of the last twenty-four hours as quickly as possible. “I’m programmed to immediately neutralize threats even from stasis. But. Apparently, this morning, my subroutines deemed it logical not to wake me even though there was movement in my close perimeter.”

Gavin grinned and jostled his shoulder. “So your subconscious wouldn't care if I pelted you with a snowball in your sleep?”

Nines’ answering grin was slightly distracted. “Oh no, it certainly would. Perhaps logical wasn't an accurate choice of words - safe, maybe.” His processors whirred to a stop as he arrived at the only possible conclusion. “You're ... safe.”

Gavin blinked. His grip on the other’s hand tightened involuntarily. “Fuck, _Nines_.” 

“I know, right. Clearly I have faulty programming, I should -”

“Okay, asshole.”

Nines giggled and turned his head to watch Gavin’s profile, in stark contrast against the clean white of the snow. 

Safe. 

“I wouldn’t ever hurt you.”

“The coldass snow currently melting down my neck says otherwise.”

“No, Gavin, you don’t understand.” he pushed himself up on his elbow and met Gavin’s questioning gaze. “I was _made to hurt_ . All my processors and components are optimized for that singular purpose, and yet _you_ … I am utterly, irreversibly compromised by you, Gavin.”

It felt almost too big a confession to be made lying in a cold park, on an average day at the beginning of an average winter, the words too warm for the snow. 

And yet.

A shocked huff of air froze to white clouds between them, Gavin’s eyes almost imperceptibly watery, cheeks reddened not just by the cold. Like always, he was surprised by Nines’ affection, hit unexpectedly with the realization that he was wanted, no matter how many times the concept was proven. 

Like happiness was a novelty. 

Gavin cursed under his breath.

“Dammit tincan, were you designed to torture me?”

“Not exactly, although I’m sure that particular feature was intended to be part of my secondary functions, considering-”

He was interrupted by Gavin’s lips on his and an unusually gentle hand in his hair; an unexpected yet pleasing outcome of this line of conversation. Nines found himself getting lost in it.

When Gavin pulled back, he stroked his thumb around the perimeter of his LED and grinned. He looked young, in that moment, young and somehow free, as if something had been lifted off of him into the cold winter air. Nines’ jacket highlighted his scar and the sharp white of his smile.

“I don’t know how I got stuck with such a prick-”

“Must you _always_ -”

“- but I really, really want to keep you.”

If Nines were human, he was sure his heart would’ve started beating at an unusually fast pace. As it was, he only smiled, wide and real, with enough vigor to have it reach his eyes. Slowly, he leaned even closer and pressed a kiss to Gavin’s forehead.

“In that case, I shall be kept.”

**Author's Note:**

> this is the fluffiest piece I've ever written and I don't regret it


End file.
